The question about access to technical information on the Mali product line gets more relevant with time. I am about to take delivery of a ststem with Mali T764; where can I get: - Details of the Instruction Set - Advice on how to invoke, and use, the "Compute" capabilities of the T764 -A list of the languages I can use: C? C++? NEON? VFP? Assenbler?
Hi Mike,
All of the GPU functionality is accessed via a higher level API - OpenGL ES for graphics, and OpenCL or RenderScript for compute. In all cases the application provides a source "shader" program to the GPU device driver, which compiles it for the GPU on the platform. This ensures that the programs are cross-platform, as the compile step is part of the driver software for the specific platform in use.
HTH,
Pete
Thanks, Peter (and Alban, if you're reading this). I'm now starting my search for OpenCL Tutorials! My interest here stems from the amazing Gigaflops figures that are quoted for the 760 series; this is a super-computer on a chip! Compared with this compute capability, the graphics side of the Mali coin pales inti insignificance...
Of course I am
I have branched/split the question into a new thread as some colleagues were confused about the product you wish to have details on.
The header still keeps the link between the two discussion.
If you're new to OpenCL then as well as finding some good web tutorials you could look at this guide: Mali-T600 Series GPU OpenCL Developer Guide - Mali Developer Center Mali Developer Center This includes an introduction to OpenCL and how to target optimisations for Mali.
Then there are a range of OpenCL-on-Mali tutorials and videos listed here: http://malideveloper.arm.com/develop-for-mali/opencl-renderscript-tutorials/
One thing worth saying up front is that OpenCL can be relatively non performance-portable. Getting the best out of an individual platform often means applying suitable optimisations to target that particular architecture.
Also, the T760 board you have may or may not have come with OpenCL drivers. We provide a guide and some driver downloads for certain platforms, currently the Samsung Chromebooks: Graphics and Compute Development on Samsung Chromebook - Mali Developer Center Mali Developer Center The supported Chromebooks are all currently based on the previous generation T6xx GPUs. Other than these, generally speaking the supply of suitable drivers is down to the supplier of the board.
I hope that helps getting you started. Do post any other questions you might have on this forum,
Best regards, Tim